


Gettin' Back on the Horse

by squidgie



Category: Letterkenny (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 17:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16246016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidgie/pseuds/squidgie
Summary: It's Fall Harvest, and Wayne's lookin' for love, so Katy Kat gives him a shove.





	Gettin' Back on the Horse

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Harvest Festival celebration over at StoryWorks](http://story-works.dreamwidth.org).

Announcements for the Fall Harvest Festival had been all over the town for weeks, though Wayne didn’t have more than two shakes to think about it.  Well, he _had_ thought about it, because he’d wanted to go.  “Gotta get back up on that horse, big brother,” Katy said to him one morning after he’d started talking about his and Darry’s plans for Fall harvest.  Bad thing was that harvest would lead to another Winter come sooner than not.  Though Wayne liked Winter, the fields covered in a blanket of pure white, sippin’ on Aunt Nancy’s hot chocolate, and sittin’ close enough to the fire to make him strip down to his undershirt.  But what he wasn’t looking forward to was another Winter spent _alone_.  Last few years he’d had Angie.  And while he’d rather go without than stay with someone that hurt him, he knew it would be a rougher, longer Winter than last.  Literally, at least according to the Farmers Almanac that his pop had always sworn by, and figuratively, with the big empty space in his bed.

Wayne sat down at the table as Katy put a plate piled high with an egg and fatback scramble, plus pancakes.  He was about to ask what he'd done to get a Sunday morning breakfast on a Tuesday when Darry walked through the door, and Katy disappeared back into the kitchen.

“Darry!  How are ya know?”

“Good’n you?”

“Oh, not ‘s bad.”

“Is that fatback?” Darry asked.  “Hey, Katy Kat?”

Katy reappeared with a second plate, piled almost as high as Wayne’s.  “Eat up, boys.  Got the last of the harvest to do.”  She smiled at Darry, and then stopped next to Wayne, where she put a hand on his shoulder. She looked at Wayne, then glanced at Darry for less than a second before catching Wayne’s eyes.  “Gotta get back up on that horse, big brother,” she said. And with a wink, she grabbed her purse. “I’m off,” she called.

“What’s that s’posed’ta mean?” Wayne called after her.  Though if he were honest, he _knew_ what Katy meant.  He just didn’t realize that Katy knew about that side of him.  Or was he just _that_ transparent?

“Horse?” Darry said around a mouthful of scramble.  “We gettin’ some horses for the farm, Wayne? 

Wayne ignored the fact that he was blushing.  Knew it because his ears burned so much that you could steam water off ‘em.  “Katy’s just,” he said, then dropped his fork, his appetite suddenly gone.  He got up and put his plate in the refrigerator, determined to finish it for lunch.  Food didn’t go to waste on the farm.  They didn’t eat it, the animals would.  “Be out in the barn,” he said, and then escaped before Darry could ask him again.

It was cold enough for Wayne’s breath to splay out in front of him, thick as if he were havin’ a dart. And since he had a few minutes, he pulled the pack out of his shirt and lit one, enjoying the warmed air pulled into his lungs.  He stood in the first rays of the rising sun and smoked until Darry showed up a few minutes later.  And when Darry pulled out his own dart, Wayne automatically cupped his hands around the end and lit it for him – and then immediately disappeared again.  This time into the barn.  He had the combine pulled out by the time Darry walked in, Darry pulling the augers out to help move the grain from the combine to the transport trucks.  Most of the grain was already sold. And what they hadn’t sold, and what wasn’t destined for feed, they’d store over Winter, and make almost as much come Springtime.

After a long, hard day of work, Darry decided to head home early.  Said that there was a project that he needed to take care of, and didn’t even stay for supper.  Just as well; Katy showed up at 4pm just as Wayne was looking through to see if he could scrounge something together.  He weren’t no stranger to cookin’, but Katy didn’t give him all that much chance to practice.  Still, he was glad she was home, ‘cause he had some things to talk about.

“Now Katy,” he started as she put a pot on the stove.  But he stopped there.

“What is it, Big Shoots?”

“Okay…  Well?  Okay… So I have an observation.  And then I have a question.”

“What’s the observation?”

Wayne looked at her and sputtered again.  “Okay, yeah. Okay.  So here’s the thing,” he finally spit out.  “So’s when you were tellin’ me to get up on the horse ‘gain, you looked at me, then looked at Darry.  And then ta me again.”

Katy threw in a couple chicken breasts, then handed Wayne a fresh bottle of Puppers.  He opened it and gave it back to her.  After taking a swig, she nodded her head.  “Can confirm.”

"Well, what was that about?" He accepted another bottle, opened it, and took a swig.  He wanted to know, but at the same time, didn’t want to know.  Because if Katy knew…

“Figure it out,” was all she said as she snapped some asparagus, then washed it and tossed it onto a baking sheet in the oven.  Katy’d use the oven more often, especially now with the cooler nights settling in.

Wayne nervously took a sip, the cold beer having a hard time getting past the knot in this throat. “Is it safe to say,” he asked, then took another sip.  “Now, is it safe to say that you think I might be in need of a companion.  And you think that companion might be, say, pert much closer than others?”

He couldn’t actually say the words.  Though he really, really wanted to.

Katy cocked her hip and leaned against the stove.  She pushed the long strands of hair out of her eyes, then said, “Not at the moment,” she said.  “But earlier? Again, can confirm.”

“So, you think…”

“Listen, big brother,” she said.  “I knew about you and Shoresy back before Angie.”

“ _Shorsey_ ,” Wayne said.  “Don’t remind me.”  He pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“So I know it’s nothing new to you,” Katy continued.  “And I know the way he looks at you.”

Wayne, who had had trouble keeping Katy’s eyes since the start of the conversation, suddenly locked his gaze and held it tight.  And were he anyone else, he knew his look would hold them at bay.  But this was Katy, the one person he couldn’t keep anything from.  His shoulders finally slumped.  “’kay.”

“And I know the way you look at him, too, Wayne.  ‘s the same thing.”

“Yeah,” Wayne said as he dropped his gaze to the floor.  “But it’s _Darry_ ," he said, his voice quiet like if he let it drop quietly from his mouth, the words would get stuck in the kitchen carpet what lay under Katy’s feet.  “What if I screw it up?”

“Did you screw up you’n Angie?”

Wayne’s voice barely lifted. “No.”

“You’n Tanis?”

“ _No_.”

“Well you’re not gonna screw this one up," she said.  "And Darry wouldn't, either.  For as much as he makes me crazy sometimes, he's a good egg, and I love him. Like a brother."  She turned back to the food she was cooking. "And I wouldn't let you two screw it up.  Me’n Dan’d make sure of it.”

“Squirrelly Dan?” Wayne’s face shot up again.  “What about ‘im?”

Katy pushed the hair from her eyes again.  “Fuck. Boys are so frustrating sometimes.”

Wayne didn’t know what she meant by that.  But by her tone, he didn’t dare question her.  “So what do you think I should do?”

Katy turned to him, a smile on her face.  “I’ve been thinking about that…”

~*~*~

Harvest was over two days later, which left Wayne and Daryl without much work to do for Friday chores. They double and triple checked the grain, then made sure the pumpkins and squash fields were properly irrigated. It’d be another month before those would come out of the ground.  They gathered a few of their excess veggies and resupplied the produce stand, then joined Katy, who was trying to catch what few rays of sunshine that late Fall could offer.

“Hey, Big Shoots.  Go home, Daryl,” she said.

“Actually,” Daryl said, “’s been a hard week.  I might just do that.”

Katy shot a glance up at Wayne, then cleared her throat. 

Wayne could feel his face flush, then sat up a little straighter.  “Say, Darry,” he said as Daryl stood from his seat.

“Yeah, Wayne?”

"Well, the harvest festival starts tonight.  Don't suppose you wanna go?”  At least he hopes that’s the words what came out of his mouth.  He couldn’t actually hear them over the jackhammerin' heartbeat in his ears and figured this was how Old Man McGovern felt when he stroked out at Bingo last Spring.  O69 indeed.

“That sounds like right fun,” Darry said.  “’course.”

“Good,” Wayne said as he took a sip of beer, his throat suddenly parched.  “I’ll fetch ya at 6 o’clock.”

Daryl gave him a curious look, then said, “6 o’clock.  See ya then.”

Wayne watched as Daryl walked across the field to where his trailer stood.  There was a silence that stretched between him and Katy, but the look that she held said more than words ever could.

“Don’t suppose he thinks this is a date, now does he?”

Katy just glared at him.

“Oh, bother.”

~*~*~

Just because it was a date with Daryl, even if he didn’t realize it was, didn’t mean Wayne could go easy on his personal chores.  Even with a chill in the air, he still pulled his truck around and washed it.  After, he went in and showered and shaved, then pulled on his best flannel.  It was a purple one – the one Katy liked and Daryl gave him a curious look whenever he wore it.  He was so nervous that he wanted a dart.  But Katy nixed that, saying, “You could still salvage this, big brother.  So you don’t want to taste like an ashtray if you somehow manage to get a goodnight kiss out of this.”

“But Darry smokes, too,” he said.  And where did that whine come from?

Katy gave him a deadpan look.  “If Darry ran out into traffic, would you follow him?”

“Well, ya,” he said. “’cause it’s _Darry_.”

The sound of a jeep horn blared from up the lane, distracting them both.  “That’d be Jonsey and Riley,” she said.  “Figure it out.”

Wayne tried to smile at her but instead decided to bite his nails.  Katy blew her bangs out of her eyes, grabbed her purse, and then walked out of the house.

~*~*~

Even though it was less than half a kilometer, Wayne drove to Daryl’s place and parked his truck. He sat in his truck for a few seconds to talk himself up.  And when he finally got up the courage to get out of the truck, he walked right up to the trailer’s door – and found he couldn’t knock.  He took a couple of deep breaths, muttered, “Figger it out,” and knocked before he could chicken out again.

It took longer than he thought for the door to open.  And when it did, standing on the other side was Daryl, wet hair even curlier than usual and dripping onto bare shoulders, and a towel around his waist.  Wayne let his eyes drop to the dark, curly hair that started just above the top of the towel.  “Wayne?  Why didn’t ya just come in?”

“Darry, how are ya now?” he asked as he walked in.

“Gooder now that I got a little nap.  Just got up later than I th-”  He looked Wayne up and down, then turned on another light and did it again.  “Wayne?”

“Daryl?”

Daryl smiled.  “You look handsomer than senior prom.”  As he put his hands on his waist, he asked, “Don’t s’pose this was to be a proper date?”  He waggled his fingers between them.  “Me ‘n you?”  There was something in his smile that told Wayne it just might be okay.

“If’n you’ll have me,” Wayne said.

Daryl’s smile grew even more.  “I’ve been hopin’ maybe one day.”  He stepped a few feet closer, now just an arm’s length away.  “You sweet on me, Wayne?”

"That a problem, Darry?" Wayne asked.  He was only a tiny bit nervous and crossed his arms in the hopes that it would stop his hands from shaking.  He glanced at the clock, then spoke before Daryl could respond.  “You’d better get a move on, or you’re gonna make us late.”

Daryl winked at him, then went into the trailer’s small bedroom.  He was out a few minutes later, dressed in his best clothes.  Wayne knew Daryl dressed up nice, but this time was different; this time he was _allowed_ to look.  Daryl stepped close, a little _too_ close, and grinned.  “I look okay, Big Shoots?” he asked.  But before Wayne could answer, he leaned forward, hesitating for a second before brushing his lips against Wayne’s.

“’kay.  Well?  ‘kay,” was all Wayne could muster.  He took a step back and held Daryl’s gaze as he adjusted his jeans, which’d grown tight. “Listen, Little Shoots.  You kiss me like that again, and we’re in danger of not leaving this trailer.”

As he took a step forward, Daryl smiled.  Wayne backed up and found himself against the door, the handle jabbed into his back. “I’m okay with that, Big Shoots.”

"No," Wayne protested, though the way his voice squeaked, you'd think he was a fourteen-year-old boy and not a full grown man.  He cleared his throat, then held Daryl at arm’s length.  Daryl pouted, but Wayne raised both hands, ticking off items one by one.  “This is gonna be a proper date, Dar.  First, dinner at the bistro in town, because I know that’s your favorite.  Second, we go to the Ag Hall, and I get at least a few proper dances.  It’s the Harvest Festival after all, and since you like to dance ‘s much, you deserve to be twirled around a bit-”

“I ain’t a girl, Wayne,” Daryl replied.

Wayne let his eyes dash downward to the stretched out denim of Daryl’s crotch.  “Point’s not lost on me, Darry.”  He cleared his throat and tried to get his mind out of the ditch and back on track.  “Third’s your choice.  Beer at Modeans, or coffee at the diner.”  He crossed his arms.  “And then comes the goodnight kiss.  And if you’re agreeable, there might be some toe curlin’ to round out the night.”

“Well okay, then,” Daryl said.  He leaned in again and put his fingers through Wayne's belt loops.  "But you know I'm pert near a sure thing," he whispered against Wayne's lips.  "Least for you, Big Shoots."

They kissed for a few seconds before Wayne let his hands come up and grab Daryl’s hips.  And when they finally parted, he turned Daryl around and tapped his shoulder.  “Ag Hall can wait,” he said as he pushed Daryl towards the bedroom.


End file.
